News of: Monday, 21st of December, 2009

Front Page

The Supreme Court in its full judgement of Bangabandhu murder case vehemently criticised the moves by subsequent governments after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for barring trial of the heinous crime and rather promoting the killers to higher or diplomatic posts.

Awami League has amended its constitution again, scrapping Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad's status as its associated body and modifying a provision on its foreign chapters to make the charter comply with the Representation of the People Order.

A resident of Mohanagar Residential Area in the city's West Rampura on Thursday alleged that the officer-in-charge (OC) of Rampura Police Station took a bribe of Tk 1.70 lakh from him by threatening to implicate him in false cases.

The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Special Court-3 in Feni adjourned till today its mutiny trial of 62 soldiers of 19 Rifle Battalion Headquarters under the Comilla Sector for their alleged involvement in the incident.

State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam yesterday said lawmakers would go to Supreme Judicial Council to lodge complaint against High Court Judge Nazrul Islam Chowdhury for his recent comments on parliament proceedings.

A $10,000 crore defamation suit was filed yesterday against the daily Amar Desh editor and three others of the daily for publishing 'false report' about prime minister's Energy Adviser Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday afternoon caught two Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) employees red handed while they were taking bribe from a client at Dakkhin Basabo in the capital.

Editorial

ONE should feel heartened by the remarks of the shipping minister warning stern action against those indulging in plundering trees in the Sitakund coastal area to set up ship breaking yards. We are, however, disappointed by the denial made by the local MP present at the meeting, terming the matter as media misinformation, further adding that they are the 'victims of media propaganda.'

BNP has elected a controversial political figure, who is alleged to be corrupt, to the second most powerful position in a major political party, and empowered the chairperson of the party to appoint other office bearers and members of national executive and standing committees ignoring the party charter that provides for election to these posts.

IT struck when the finale of the 12-day Congregation attended by 192 members of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change was enacted in Danish capital on December 18 with the highest ever stake in the brief history of environmentalism. The leaders of the nations of the world were indeed in Copenhagen to roll back the legacy of hunger, disease, drought, flood, storm and rising seas -- all due mainly to mankind's unwitting impact on the weather system.

ANNOUNCING a package plan to upgrade the nursing profession, the prime minister expected that the standard of the nursing profession in Bangladesh would be upgraded to international standard, enhancing the nurses' social dignity with proportional pay and status and also creating opportunities of promotion and avenues to get training abroad. This is surely a new dimension and commitment in the health care delivery system of Bangladesh, where the doctor to nurse ratio is 2:1 and patient to nurse proportion is about 8000:1, a very deplorable situation. There are about 20,000 registered nurses in the country, of which 14,686 are in government service and others are working in private hospitals and clinics or have been deputed abroad.

Sports

Will it be Abahani once again to lift the supreme domestic trophy for the fourth time on a trot, or will Mohammedan be able to end their eight-year drought and bring it back to their Motijheel tent? Will it be the current stand-in skipper of national side Shakib Al Hasan to have the last laugh or will it be battle-hardened Khaled Mashud to have the last say?

The build-up to today's third one-day international between India and Sri Lanka has been dominated by the two-match ban handed down to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for India's appallingly slow over-rate in Nagpur.

Australia needed 21 balls on the last day to win the third and final Test and take the Frank Worrell Trophy with a 2-0 victory over West Indies at the WACA in Perth on Sunday. The result was virtually assured as soon as the day broke sunny, with the hosts wanting one wicket and it came when Kemar Roach was ruled caught behind via an umpiring review.

Bangladesh Football Federation suspended today's fixtures of the ongoing Bangladesh League after Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) requested to the football's governing body to vacant the venue for renovation work at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara believes the absence of his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the third ODI in Cuttack on Monday is likely to hurt the home side, as both teams look to take the upper hand in the five-match series.

A double by former Manchester United striker David Bellion inspired Bordeaux to a 4-1 home win over Lorient on Saturday that stretched their lead at the top of the French first division to nine points.

Ricky Ponting will warn his players to tone down their on-field behaviour after Chris Gayle declared he wasn't surprised by Shane Watson's over-the-top celebrations because he "didn't expect anything better" of him. Watson was the third Australian player to be fined by the match referee during the Perth Test, which also featured a two-ODI suspension for Sulieman Benn, and left Australia's players embarrassed by their actions.

The injury crisis in the Sri Lankan camp has deepened, with the all-rounder Angelo Mathews set to return home after straining his right quadricep muscle during the second ODI in Nagpur on Friday. The Sri Lanka Cricket media manager Brian Thomas has confirmed to Cricinfo that the Wayamba all-rounder Thissara Perera will join the squad in India on Sunday for the three remaining ODIs.

Grameenphone Winter Bridge Carnival will start at the Engineering Institute Club, Dhaka on Thursday. The tournament is being sponsored by Grameenphone and organized by Dhaka Metropolis Bridge Association (DMBA). Interested teams, pairs and individuals have been asked to register their entries.

Agriculture experts yesterday called to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders to speed up biotechnological research and development efforts, aiming to ensure food security for Bangladesh's growing population.

A research conducted in 2000 by Sarah Anderson and John Cavanagh of Institute of Policy Studies revealed some interesting facts about the strength and power of large corporate houses. Whether we believe it or not, of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are businesses; the other 49 are countries.

The farmers and concerned officials are expecting a bumper production of all variety oily crops following various government steps and favourable climatic conditions in the northern region this Rabi season.

Top Dubai officials have been in talks with creditors in London on the possible repayment of all the banking debt owed by the troubled subsidiaries of the Dubai World group, a newspaper said on Sunday.

ICB ISLAMIC MUTUAL FUNDOn the close of operation on December 15, the fund declared NAV of Tk 279.66 per unit on the basis of current market price and Tk 220.70 at cost price against face value of Tk 100. The fund's total net assets stood at Tk 27.96 crore on the basis of market price and Tk 22.07 crore on the basis of cost price after considering all assets and liabilities.

Metropolitan

The ruling Awami League (AL) yesterday alleged that the main opposition BNP has hatched a fresh conspiracy to implement 'Minus Sajeeb Wazed Joy' formula since Tarique Rahman has already been excluded from politics.

A Dhaka court yesterday again directed the additional inspector general of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit by March 8 a probe report in the case of attempt to murder Prof Humayun Azad.

A parliamentary committee has asked Finance Secretary Mohammad Tareque to appear before it on January 5 next year and explain the reason of his absence in yesterday's meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday brushed aside the allegations brought against him and PM's son Sajeeb Wajed Joy that they were bribed with $5 million by the US-based oil company Chevron.

Teachers and students of Patuakhali Government College, also the classmates of Shah Ali, who was allegedly poisoned to death two days ago, brought out a procession and submitted a memo to deputy commissioner (DC) of Patuakhali yesterday demanding proper investigation into the incident and justice.

A regional 'mathematics festival' was held at Gaibandha Government Boys' High School ground on Saturday, with participation of 965 students from 84 institutions of Gaibandha, Joypurhat, Bogra and Sirajganj districts.

Letters

We know that Bangladesh experienced foreign rule until we achieved complete freedom. In retrospect we see that Bangladesh was under the Palas(750-1030), the Senas(1030-1202/4) ,and after the Senas the foreign Muslim rule was established. This rule was divided into two periods: Sultanate and Mughal period. During these periods Bangladesh was a province of Delhi, the then capital of the Sultans and the Mughals.

The government is going to draft a policy to introduce 'single child family' at national level by 2015. This is welcome news. It is a belated decision, but better late than never. The population boom in Bangladesh is a serious socio-economic issue. If implemented and accepted by all of us, it will no doubt benefit the country to tackle many problems relating to socio-economic development, health issues and global warming etc.

Our country is home to a number of rivers. But what is shameful is that our rivers are grabbed by land grabbers and polluted by the industries. Buriganga, Balu, Shitalakkhya and Turag are ecologically critical to this country, but they are in hapless state. Not only these rivers, other rivers are also in poor condition, like our Padma has dried up because of the Farakka Barrage built by India.

Bangladesh has been snubbed by India a number of times since independence. The latest rejection of the Bangladesh proposal to hold a JRC meeting to finalise an agreement on the sharing of Teesta river waters is another example of how India deals with Bangladesh. This agreement is pending since 2005. While India failed to comply with the requirements to finalise the Teesta water agreement, Bangladesh already finalised three agreements, namely: (1) Treaties on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, (2) Transfer of Prisoners and, (3) Bilateral Agreement on Combating International Terrorism.

The change of climate is now a major global concern. The worst of all the problems that affect all the flora and fauna of our environment is the climate change. There are many plants and animals that are vulnerable to climate change. As a result of increasing temperature, they are likely to be extinct. About 18,000 years ago, the sea level was more than 100 meters lower than today. Over the past century, the level has risen by 10-20cm, probably in response to global warming. The mangrove forests will be affected because of increasing salinity during the winter season and high tides during the monsoon.

Our immediate past caretaker government of Mr Fakhruddin Ahmed took many reform initiatives on different issues, like corruption, but I really felt very sad to think that he had never taken any steps against any transport companies which violate traffic rules and also fail to give comfortable transport service to the public. This is also true that no other government had really cared about public transport to give a standard transport service.

President Obama has reiterated the necessity of war at the time of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize! All over the world the warlord is subverting the peace process, especially in Palestine, yet he has been awarded the prize for peace. What a joke!

The 45th convocation of Dhaka University, the biggest in its history, took place on 12 December, 2009 with more than 9,000 graduates and post graduates getting their degrees in a high emotional state of mind. President Zillur Rahman, Chancellor of Dhaka University, inaugurated the major convocation programme at the middle of the day, at the university's central sports ground, following playing of the national anthem. The university conferred honorary degrees to three distinguished academics Nobel Laureate chemist Prof Yuan T Lee, inventor of the Sono arsenic filter Abul Hussam as well as Indian historian Prof Ranajit Guha. Mr. Lee received his honorary degree physically. Mr. Hussam, an ex- DU student and Mr. Guha could not attend at the ceremony. Amongst the students in receipt of certificates, 4,203 were graduates, 1,328 post graduates and 58 MPhil holders plus 58 PhD holders. The university has assumed this is the largest convocation in terms of number of graduates along with guests. Dhaka University was established in 1921. Its first convocation was held in 1923.

Prof. Nazrul Islam, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, has said that Dhaka is the city of opportunity. This opportunity brings misfortune for the city as well as for the city dwellers. In the last two or three decades, the population here has increased four times. At present more than one crore and thirty lakh people live in Dhaka city. To meet the needs of this citizens, the city is losing its capacity. Water crisis, load shedding, traffic jam are now acute.

Your correspondent's report along with the photograph, published in your pages on 9 December, graphically confirms the saying that "Power corrupts and absolute powers corrupts absolutely"! The report identifies an AL leader of Chakoria upazila in Cox's Bazar and his partner, who have set up a brickfield in prohibited reserve forest area of Uchitar Beel. It seems that the forest officials and the local district administration are unable, or scared, to take any punitive action against them, since they belong to the party in power, and possibly connected with local goons! This is an outrageous example of misuse of power by the Awami League!

A very important report was published in a Bangla daily on 11 December about false certificates of Dhaka university. In the report it was stated that hundreds of people are using such false certificates and working in different government and non-government organisations in the country and abroad.

I was watching the BBC news channel the other morning when the Copenhagen Summit was being reported. It was also reported that Dhaka is one of the dirtiest cities in the world. This credit should go to the incompetence and sheer laziness of the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC). Dhaka has gone below standard just like the great minds of the DCC.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon's warning that nature does not negotiate with us is most relevant. To end the stalemate and move forward in Copenhagen, developing countries like India and China should agree on an international verification regime for carbon intensity cuts that they have unilaterally declared.

As a nuclear engineer, I appreciate Engr. S.A. Mansoor's promotion of Pebble Bed Reactors (PBRs) for heat or power generation (Dec. 13). It is one of the six concepts being investigated for Generation IV rectors (current reactors operating round the world being of the Generation II and III type). Generation IV reactors are not expected to be available for commercial operation before 2030.

How can we support a political party whose chief is Tarique Rahman or going to be the next chairperson? It indicates that the BNP is not a democratic party. Can you cite me a single example of Tarique's contribution for our nation or our country? How come the top leaders of the BNP nod their heads and accept him as their party chief? Thanks to general mass of Bangladesh that they rejected rightly not to choose this party in the last election. People got the lesson, but not the BNP. Still on the wrong track!

Though redundant, this is a long debated issue. The ominous flooding of the city by rickshaws is one glaring example of how both the DCC and the govt can be shamefully indifferent to our rural unemployment problem. Yes, that the rural people are not starving to death is not because of the govt's good planning or programmes but because they have learnt to survive.

A few days back, I read a report that the present government was going to change the name of "Zia International Airport" to Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) Airport. This is not quite unexpected news for me since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plays the name game when she is in power. The perfect example is "P.G Hospital" which was changed to "Bangubandhu Sheikh Mujib Hospital". Secondly, the name of "Zia Udyan" and "Chandrima Udyan" were changed.

The Muslims, world over, know that the Battle of Badr was the first and the most glorious battle ever fought in the name of Allah , the Merciful. For the first time the followers of the new faith were put to a serious test. This battle proved to be a milestone in the history of Islam which ushered in the dawn of a new religion, Islam, the youngest of all and the fastest in its following. The victory of Badr was spectacular, 313 Muslims defeated a large army of 950 men.

A British medic, who was held for months in a "concentration camp" along with nearly 300,000 Tamil refugees, has revealed that Sri Lankan military guards sexually abused women prisoners frequently in the camp.

The main Indian opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has overhauled its top leadership giving the party reigns to relatively younger leaders. But the key question is: can they boost the overall standings of the polls battered party?

Amid protests by Congress, the legislative assembly in western Indian state of Gujarat ruled by BJP has passed a Bill seeking to make voting mandatory in elections to urban civic bodies and village panchayats.

Tens of thousands of European travellers were stranded yesterday in rail stations, traffic jams and airports as heavy snow and ice caused massive disruption at the start of the Christmas holiday season.

Top Iranian dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a fierce critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was once tapped to become Iran's undisputed number one, has died, reports said yesterday.

A 100-year-old Brazilian grandmother will experience gravity in a whole new way this Christmas when she takes the plunge out of an airplane to become the world's oldest parachuter, local news site G1 reported Saturday.

Arts & Entertainment

As part of the ongoing Victory Day celebration programmes by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), dances, recitations, songs and film screening took place on December 18 (on the fifth day) at its premises. Organised by BSA, the event has been held at the Bjoy Mancha from December 14 and will continue till December 22.

A number of seasoned classical vocalists and instrumentalists of the country performed at Narayanganj Club Convention Hall, by the river Shitalakshya on December 17 -- the silence of the night broke with their mellifluous voices and harmonious notes on instruments.

The '500th Rajshahi Bibhagio Khelagharh Shahitya Utshab' (divisional literature festival) was recently held in Dinajpur with participation of poets and litterateurs from Dinajpur, Natore, Panchagarh and Naogaon districts.

Theatre troupe Palakar is going to participate at the International Theatre Festival to be held in Pune from December 24, says a press release. The festival is being organised by Symbiosis Institute, Pune.

Marking the 'Khelaghar Shahitya Utshab', Dhaka Division, a daylong programme was held recently at Udhichi Bhaban auditorium in the town. The organiser of the programme was Brahmaputra Khelaghar Ashor (BKA).

OP-ED

THERE is no denying the fact that democracy is synonymous with good governance. Therefore, a political party needs to cultivate a democratic norm within the party itself. Otherwise, the people cannot expect good governance if the party comes to power.

THERE are people all around the world -- from the deserts of Sahara where temperature climbs to well over 500C to the permafrost Arctic regions where temperature dips below -500C. Human beings are extremely adaptable animals. But that does not mean that lives in the extremes are comfortable or endurable. The human population had been flourishing on the planet over the past couple of centuries within the comfort zone of 200C to 300/350C, primarily as a result of advances in medical sciences, better health care and enhanced food production. And that is where lies the present problem.

MY son sacrificed his life for liberation," said the gentleman sitting a couple of seats away from me at Shilpakala. He did not give his name, but the loss defined his identity with a pride in his son's memory accompanied by the unthinkable pain that never goes away: the pain suffered by a parent when a fundamental rule of nature is broken and a child passes out of their life.